Beet topper



Nov. 5, 1923.

J. L. BYRNE ET AL BEET TOPEER Filed Aug. 10 1921 Wired ,she/der INVENTORS n BY WW www,

A TTORNEY Patented Nov. 6, 1923.

UNTE S'FFES earner erstes.

BEET TOPPER.

Yappneauon sied august 1o, 1921. serial No. 491,185.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN L. BYRNE and FRED V. SCNEDER, citizens of the United' States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invent ed certain new and useful Improvements in Beet Toppers; and we do hereby declare theV following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to means for harvesting beets or the like; and more particularly to means for lifting them from the ground and severing the tops from the roots. lt is designed for use in connection with a beet digging or uprooting means.

An object ofk the invention is to engage the beets, or like plants, as they are loosened from the ground by suitable plows or other devices, carry them rearward and sever the tops from `the roots of each at substantially the same relative point.

To accomplish this object, the invention consists, specifically, in upper and lower frictional conveyers adapted to engage the tops and roots, respectively, of each plant, and convey them upward and rearward; cutting means disposed between the upper and lower conveyers, and a. rigid guiding means, disposed obliquely with respect to the planes of the conveyers, adapted to engage the shoulders or upper surfaces of the beet or other roots, and thus force all roots to the same relative position with respect to the cutters. It also consists in the elements and details of construction set forth in the ensuing description, illustrated inthe accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure ll is a longitudinal section taken on the line l-l of Figure 2, showing this improvement in side elevation.

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof. l

Figure 3 is a view on the broken line 3--3 of Figure 1 viewed in the direction of the arrows. Y p In the said drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, l indicates a pair of traction wheels carried on a. revolving axle 2. Supported onl said axle 2 is the rear end of a frame comprising side members 3, which may be elevated above said axle by any framingbracket as 3a. The forward ends of the side members 3 are illustrated as broken away, it'being understood that at the forward end are mounted suitable plows or other digging orY loosening devices of a type well known in the art.' Mounted on the axle 2 is a beveled gear wheel 4. They beveled gear 4 may be caused to turn with the axle by a clutch Lla (illustrated conventionally) when the clutch is engaged with said beveled gear, or the axle may revolve with respect to said beveled gear when the clutch is disengaged. Journalled radially at 5a inasleeve on the axle 2 adjacent the right hand end thereof, is the lower end of shaft 5, said shaft 5 having secured thereto a beveled pinion 6 arranged to mesh with the beveled gear wheel 4. The said shaft 5 extends upward from ,its stepped sleeve bearing and is journalled in suitable bearings in-an auxiliary tiltable frame on which the conveying and cuttin mechanism subsequently to be described is supported.

.The lifting, conveying and topping mechanism conprises four endless conveyers, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The conveyers 7 and l0 are arranged in pairs having their inner stretches running parallel with each other and extending normally on an upward incline from front to rear. The said conveyers 7 and l0 preferably consist of chains provided with spurs l1 projecting outward, said inner stretches of the conveyers 7 and l0 being designed to engage opposite sides of the beet roots and convey them rearward. 'It will be observed that said conveyers 7 and 10 lie in substantially ,a common plane and that the inner stretches engage the roots frictionally so that saidroots may be pushed downward between them from above. The spurs l1 maybe more or less closely spaced, as desired, and of suitable length for the end in view. In the drawings the said spurs l1 are shown spaced a considerable distance apart, merely for convenience of illustration. The conveyers 8 and 9 are in a common plane spaced above and parallel with the conveyers 7 and 10; they project further forward than said conveyers: 7 and 10 in order that the beet tops may be firstV engaged. Said conveyers 8 and 9 are, also, preferably formed of chain links having spurs l1 suitably spaced from each other, and are adapted to engage and clamp frictionally, between their inner stretches, the tops of theY plants. The inner stretches; of the tops-engaging llO conveyers 8 and 9 may be arranged close together so that they willbe able to grasp or frictionally engage relatively thin stalks or tops of the plants and sustain them during the rearward travel. Although the drawing shows both the upper and lower conveyers having their inner stretches rela-- tively close together, it will be understood that the inner stretches of the lower conveyers may be separated slightly more because of the greater thickness of the roots as compared with the tops.

The said conveyers arel mounted in and held in their proper positions by a tiltable frame work, which may consist of pairs of longitudinally inclined bars laterally and vertically space from each other, pivotally supported on the axle 2 by the shafts 5 and 16, or by other suitable means. At the ends of the upper bars 12 of the conveyer frame are journalled suitable band wheels 13, which, in the present instance, are shown as sprocket wheels, for guiding the endless chain conveyers 8 and 9. ln the ends of the lower bars 120 of said frame, are journalled other band or sprocket wheels 13, for guiding the said roots-engaging conveyers 7 and 10. The said upright rshaft 5 is journalled in the rear ends of the right hand side bars 12 and 120 of the conveyer frame, while in the rear ends of the left hand side bars is journalled the shaft 16, to which the left hand rear sprocket wheels 13 and 13a are secured. Cross bars 12, which may be elevated above the frame bars 12, are connected thereto; also a cross bar 12b, to which the lifting mechanism to be described is linked, and suitable upright spacers 12. Secured to the shaft 5, between the rear ends of the right hand frame bars 12 and 120, is al spur gear 14, which meshes with a corresponding spur gear 17 secured to the shaft 16 between the rear ends of the left hand bars of the conveyer frame. By means of the spur gears 14 and 17 motion is transmitted from the shaft 5 to all of the said conveyers.

ySecured to the shaft 5 below the lower right hand bar 120 is a sprocket wheel 15. Suitably journalled in brackets 21 connected to t-he frame bars 120 are rotary cutting wheels 22, which are adapted to co-operate with each other in order to sever the tops from the beets. These cutters are of well known type and need not be further described, except by stating that the throat` between said cutters is disposed centrally between the adjacent stretches of the conveyers and somewhat above the plane, of the roots engaging conveyers 7 and 10. Said cutters are secured to shafts 22a, the lower ends of which project below their bearings and carry in the embodiment illustrated, a pair of spur pinions 22bin mesh with each other. A sprocketfpinion 15' is secured to the right hand cutter shaft 22a, as shown,

and is driven by a sprocket chain 15b from the sprocket wheel 15 and shaft 5. By means of the gearing described the cutters must rotate with their adjacent edges moving in the same direction as the adjacent stretches of the conveyers.

In order to guide the outery or return stretches of the conveyers a series of guide rollers or wheels 18 is provided, said wheels being suitably mounted upon the frame bars 12 and 120 and engaging the inner sides of the outer stretches. rihe inner stretches of said conveyers are forced elastically toward each other by means of Vguide wheels 19, which may be mounted on slidable rods in the frame bars, said slidable rods being surrounded by coil springs 19, bearing upon shoulders adjacent the wheels 19 and pressing the adjacent stretches of the conveyers toward each other so as to frictionally engage and hold yieldingly the beet roots and tops. The action'of the tensioning guide wheels 19 causes the throats between the conveyers to converge as shown.

In order that the forward end of the con- 'veyers may be adjusted at dierent heights from the ground by tilting the conveyer frame about the axle 2, there is provided a lifting mechanism consisting of a rock shaft 21 mounted between the frame bars 3, said rock shaft having an arm 22 connected by a link 23 to the cross bar 12b of said conveyer frame, another arm 24 connected by a link 25 to a lever 20, which has associated with it a suitable latching device, whereby the lever may be interlocked with a toothed segment 2Oa in a manner well understood.

To the end that each plant, as it is conveyed rearward to the cutter, may be so positioned that the root will be severed from the top at substantially the same point, a suitable guide or plant positioning means is provided. rlhe said guide or positioning means comprises converging guides 26, sustained by the cross' bars 12a aforesaid, in a fixed position relative to the conveyer frame. These guides 26 are at their front ends, preferably curving outward as indicated at 27. The guides 26 are secured in a plane that is oblique to the plane of the tops-conveyers 8 and 9, the forwards .ends of said guides being located above the conveyers 8V and 9, while the rearward ends extend below said conveyers and at the proper distance above the cutters 22, said guides engaging the upper part of the beet root on each side of the top, pressing said root downward as it approaches the cutter; thus each beet as it approaches the cutter will have its shoulder or the upper end Vof its root disposedthe same distance above the cutter', the result being that the top portion of the root carrying the stalk and leaves will be severed. The distance of the guides above the cutter will depend upon the amount of the top of the root it is desired to sever. It is preferred that the root engaging corners of the guides shall form an acute angle as indicated at 28, constituting cutting edges adapted to sever any wilted and downfallen leaves which might otherwise aect the proper po-r opposite sides by the inner stretches of the conveyers 7 and l0. The plants will then be carried upward and rearward, the tops and roots being held frictionally by the adjacent stretches of the conveyers. As the plants approach the cutters, those roots that are too high will be engaged with certainty by the acute angled edges of the guides 26 and pressed downward, the roots sliding between the frictional conveyers 7 and l0, so that when the cutting means is reached all roots will be cut at the same distance below the top. The root positioning means 26 is of importance because of the different heights above the ground at which the tops may be engaged by the conveyers, owing to inequalities of the ground and the dierence in manner of growth of the plant. Suitable adjustment of the forward ends of the conveyers may be made by means of the lever 20. The spurs 11 may be small, if desired, so that gashing of the beets thereby may be inconsequential. l n

Having described our invention in such manner as to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, whatl we claim is:

l. In beet harvesters or the like, the combination of means for conveying the body of the beet, means for conveying the upstanding leaves of the beet and guiding means positioned between the said two conveying means and adapted to press upon the top of thevbody Vof the beets, said guiding means having a sharp edge adapted to cut away leaf stalks which lie uponl the top of the body of the beet.

2. Inbeet harvesters or the like, the combination of a pair of endless conveyers having parallel juxtaposed stretches adapted to hold beet tops or the like between them and Vconvey the plants with their roots depending; cutting .means disposed beneath said conveyers inposition to sever the tops carried by the conveyer from the roots; and

spaced guides converging in the direction of travel ofv said conveyer stretches, and arranged obliquely with respect to the plane of said conveyers, the forward ends of said guides being disposed above the conveyers and the rearward ends being disposed beneath said conveyers and above the cutting means.

3. In beet harvesters or the like, the combination ofrconveying means adapted to frictionally hold the tops and convey the plants with their roots depending; a pair of endless root engaging conveyers disposed beneath and parallel with said iirst named conveying means, said root engaging conveyers being arranged in a common plane and having parallel stretches adapted to frictionally engage the root-s between them; cutting means disposed between'the tops engaging and the roots engaging conveyers, and spaced guides converging in the direction of travel of the beets, said spaced guides being disposed in a plane oblique to the plane ofthe tops engaging conveyers with their front ends above the tops engaging conveyers and their rear ends above the cutting means, but below the tops conveyer.

In testimony whereof we afix our signatures.

JOHN L. BYRNE. FRED V. SCN EDER. 

